Buying a Mobile Home in New Mexico

This week in our series, the focus is on Buying a Mobile Home in New Mexico. If you missed our previous installments, so far we have explored Buying a Mobile Home in Florida, Michigan, Mississippi, South Carolina, and our home state of West Virginia. Our resources include the mobile home buying process, help for consumers for issues after the purchase, and taking a peek at some of the beautiful homes in each state.

Facts about Mobile Home Living in New Mexico

Mobile Home Village offers tons of great information regarding mobile homes in New Mexico. For example, did you know that mobile homes date back to the 1940’s as one of the original destinations for mobile homes? Other statistics include:

• The average price of a pre-owned home:   $72186
• Average model year of a pre-owned home:   2004
• Average pre-owned home size in square feet:  1453
• The average sites in a manufactured home community:   104
• The average year a community was developed:  1976
• Number of age-restricted communities:   26
• Number of all-age communities:   207

The Mobile Home Buying Process

We all know that the mobile home buying process can be a confusing time. Trying to decide how much home you need, are you going to place the home in a mobile home community or your own land, and what kind of financing is available are all questions that need answers. Luckily, in the state of New Mexico, the New Mexico Manufactured Housing Association is there to help. Not only do they provide information regarding resources on mobile home dealers, financing and more, they also have a really cool questionnaire that asks questions to help guide you in your mobile home purchase.

There are several set standards in place by the state of New Mexico. These include Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards that were enacted by the New Mexico Manufactured Housing Act. These regulations and standards protect the consumer and ensure that all manufactured homes in the state are safe and built to industry standards.

Transport Permits 

New Mexico also has some stringent guidelines regarding transporting your mobile home in the state. Thre is a checklist that must be included with every transport along with a route survey to make sure that the entire route is passable. These resources are all available on the New Mexico Manufactured Housing site as well.

If you have questions that can’t be answered on the site you can mail, call or email them directly at:

New Mexico Manufactured Housing Association
6001 Indian School Road NE, Suite 560
Albuquerque, NM 87110
Phone: (505) 830-3764
Email: [email protected].

Zoning Laws

It’s important to check with your local county or city when thinking about buying a mobile home in New Mexico. You can find a list of all the floodplain, planning and zoning departments on the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department: Construction Industries and Manufactured Housing Division site. It includes name, address and phone numbers covering the entire state.

Setting Up Your Mobile Home

One interesting fact we found about setting up your mobile home in the state of New Mexico is the requirement that if you want to set up your own mobile home or install the foundation yourself, you must first pass a homeowner’s examination for set-up and foundation before you will be issued a permit. According to the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department: Construction Industries and Manufactured Housing Division, the exam must be taken at one of their offices, and there is a $50 fee, you must make at least a 70% on the test, and there is a fee everytime you retake the test.

Titling Your Mobile Home

Once you have purchased your mobile home, you will need to make sure it is titled correctly as personal property. If buying a new mobile home, your dealer must title the home BEFORE it is moved to its permanent location. Just like in many other states, the mobile home titling process is similar to titling a vehicle. This is done through the New Mexico Motor Vehicle Department.

If the mobile home is placed on a permanent foundation and its wheels removed, it is essential to contact the local county assessors office and have the title deactivated. Once this is completed the land and home will be assessed as real property. The following requirements must be met before the Motor Vehicles Department will deactivate the title:

• The title is free and clear of all recorded liens and encumbrances.
• The “request to change valuation status” (obtained from the county assessor) has been completed and signed by the county assessor of the county in which the mobile home is located.
• The owner/s have signed the title application if the transaction is a first-time title, first-time title (out of state), title transfer, lien release/title change, or duplicate title transaction. (Note: If the owner has a title in his possession the title application is not necessary.)

It’s important to remember to detitle the mobile home so that its classified as real property and not personal property. Otherwise, taxes will be due for both.

Who to Contact if You Have a Problem With Your Manufactured Home

The state of New Mexico manages their own HUD manufactured housing dispute resolution program. According to their page, if there is a problem with a manufactured home,  a consumer can file a consumer complaint with the New Mexico Manufactured Housing Division where the complaint will be investigated and where, if necessary, a consumer protection bond may be activated to bring the issue into compliance. You can contact the division directly at:

Regulation and Licensing Department Construction Industries Division and Manufactured Housing Division 
505 S. Main Street, Suite 118 
Las Cruces, NM 88004

Mailing Address
P. O. Box 939
Las Cruces, NM 88004
PH: 505-490-2998
FAX: 575-524-6319 
Website: www.rld.state.nm.us

Keep in mind, all new manufactured homes come with a limited warranty from the manufacturer as well. Be sure to contact your dealer to try and resolve any issues before reaching out to the state agency.

A Look at Mobile Home Living in New Mexico

One of the best parts of this series is taking a look at the gorgeous mobile homes that can be found in each state. All of the homes we share this week were found on Zillow, and it was tough to narrow it down to just a few!

Related: See this complete mobile home remodel we featured a while back!

We hope you are enjoying our weekly look at buying a mobile home. Be sure to watch for next week’s look at buying a mobile home in Pennsylvania!

Thanks for reading Mobile Home Living!